While it may not be affected at a functional level (at least not in a way I can see right now), it is confusing when reading that code.

Isn't clarity and avoiding confusion a desired trait for core python code?

What about all these recommendations from the Zen of Python?

Beautiful is better than ugly.
Simple is better than complex.
Flat is better than nested.
Readability counts.
If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.